Bobby Witt Jr. homers as Royals earn 3-game sweep with 8-2 win over Rays

TAMPA, Fla. (AP) — Bobby Witt Jr. homered to extend his hitting streak to 22 games and had three RBIs, Seth Lugo pitched solid six innings and the Kansas City Royals earned a three-game sweep of the Tampa Bay Rays with an 8-2 victory on Thursday.

Vinnie Pasquantino had a single, a double and two RBIs for the Royals, who have won nine of their past 10.

The crowd of 8,794 was the first non-sellout in 22 games this season for the Rays at Steinbrenner Field.

Mikael Garcia hit a line-drive double to center field for the Royals, stole third base and then scored on a sacrifice fly by Michael Massey to tie it 1-1 in the fourth.

Lugo (3-3) gave up two runs and five hits with five strikeouts. Daniel Lynch IV, Angel Zerpa and Chris Stratton each threw a scoreless inning of relief for the Royals.

Shane Baz (3-1) gave up seven runs and nine hits with three walks over 5 2/3 innings and had his ERA increase from 2.45 to 3.86.

Yandy Díaz hit a solo homer in the first for the Rays. Jonathan Aranda added an RBI single in the sixth.

Salvador Perez (hip soreness) left the game in the seventh inning. The 34-year-old catcher was in the lineup at designated hitter, replaced behind the plate by Freddie Fermin. Perez hit an RBI double in the fifth and Fermin had a double, a single and scored twice.

Witt hit a two-out, two-run homer down the line in right field to spark a three-run fifth that gave the Royals a 4-1 lead.

Witt has a hit in 22 consecutive games, tied with Brian McRae (in 1991) for the sixth-longest hitting streak in Royals history.

Right-hander Michael Wacha (1-3, 3.38 ERA) is scheduled to take the mound on Friday in the first of a three-game series in Baltimore. RHP Dean Kremer (1-3, 7.04 ERA) is expected to pitch for the Orioles.

Rays RHP Ryan Pepiot (2-3, 4.24 ERA) is set to face left-hander Max Fried (5-0, 1.19 ERA) on Friday to start a three-game series against the Yankees in New York.

AP MLB: https://apnews.com/hub/MLB

Kansas City Royals first base Vinnie Pasquantino gets Tampa Bay Rays' Chandler Simpson (14) out on a close play during the first inning of a baseball game Thursday, May 1, 2025, in Tampa, Fla. (AP Photo/Chris O'Meara)

Tampa Bay Rays' Yandy Díaz jokes with third base coach Brady Williams (4) after Diaz hit a solo home run off Kansas City Royals pitcher Seth Lugo during the first inning of a baseball game Thursday, May 1, 2025, in Tampa, Fla. (AP Photo/Chris O'Meara)

Tampa Bay Rays third base Junior Caminero catches a pop fly by Kansas City Royals' Michael Massey during the second inning of a baseball game Thursday, May 1, 2025, in Tampa, Fla. (AP Photo/Chris O'Meara)

Tampa Bay Rays' Shane Baz pitches to the Kansas City Royals during the second inning of a baseball game Thursday, May 1, 2025, in Tampa, Fla. (AP Photo/Chris O'Meara)

Kansas City Royals' Seth Lugo pitches to the Tampa Bay Rays during the second inning of a baseball game Thursday, May 1, 2025, in Tampa, Fla. (AP Photo/Chris O'Meara)

Kansas City Royals' Maikel Garcia steals third base under Tampa Bay Rays' Junior Caminero (13) during the second inning of a baseball game Thursday, May 1, 2025, in Tampa, Fla. (AP Photo/Chris O'Meara)

Kansas City Royals pitcher Seth Lugo (67) delivers to the Tampa Bay Rays during the first inning of a baseball game Thursday, May 1, 2025, in Tampa, Fla. (AP Photo/Chris O'Meara)

Kansas City Royals' Bobby Witt Jr. watches his two-run home run off Tampa Bay Rays pitcher Shane Baz during the fifth inning of a baseball game Thursday, May 1, 2025, in Tampa, Fla. (AP Photo/Chris O'Meara)

DHAKA, Bangladesh (AP) — Huge crowds flocked to the area outside Bangladesh’s national parliament building in the capital Wednesday to attend the funeral prayers for former Prime Minister Khaleda Zia , who died a day earlier at the age of 80 after a prolonged illness.

Waves of people from Dhaka and elsewhere had been streaming in toward the venue on Manik Mia Avenue, outside the parliament building, since early morning. Witnesses said many cried, calling Zia their “mother” as they arrived at the venue, with some traveling overnight from rural areas to join the prayers. In neighborhoods kilometers (miles) away, crowds also spilled into major streets to pray.

Zia’s funerals were expected to draw hundreds of thousands of her supporters and people from across the country while dignitaries from India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka and Nepal also arrived in Dhaka, with local media saying foreign envoys and representatives from 32 countries joined the funeral ceremony. She will be buried beside the grave of her husband, a former president who was assassinated in a military coup in 1981, in a park outside the parliament building later Wednesday.

Zia came to politics after her husband’s death and rose to prominence as an opposition leader during a nine-year movement against a former military dictator who was ousted in a mass uprising in 1990. Zia became prime minister for the first time in 1991, with a landslide victory in a democratically held national election as the country introduced parliamentary democracy. She was the leader of her Bangladesh Nationalist Party till her death.

Zia, who was known for having a calm demeanor, maintained a strong political rivalry with her archrival and former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina. Hasina, who heads the Bangladesh Awami League party, ruled the country for 15 years before she was ousted in 2024 in a mass uprising.

Zia's coffin, draped in Bangladesh’s national flag, was carried in a van escorted by security officials and party supporters from the hospital to her residence and then to the funeral venue.

Authorities said about 10,000 security officials including soldiers would be deployed around the venue to maintain order on Wednesday.

Bangladesh’s interim government headed by Nobel Peace Prize laureate Muhammad Yunus announced a three-day mourning and declared Wednesday a public holiday to facilitate the funerals. Flags were kept at half-staff Wednesday across the country to show respect to Zia, the country’s first female prime minister who served two full terms and another brief term.

Zia’s eldest son, Tarique Rahman, is the acting head of her Bangladesh Nationalist Party, which is the front-runner in the nation’s next elections in February.

Hasina, who has been in exile in India since Aug. 5, 2024, was sentenced to death in November on charges of crimes against humanity involving last year’s uprising.

FILE - Bangladesh's main opposition Bangladesh Nationalist Party chief and former Prime Minister Khaleda Zia looks upwards as she attends a rally of her supporters outside their party headquarters in Dhaka, Bangladesh, Monday, March 12, 2012. (AP Photo/Aijaz Rahi, File)

FILE - Khaleda Zia takes an oath of office as the prime minister in Dhaka, Bangladesh, Oct. 10, 2001. (AP Photo/Pavel Rahman, File)

FILE - Bangladesh's former prime minister and Bangladesh Nationalist Party leader Khaleda Zia, center, leaves court after a hearing in Dhaka, Bangladesh, Aug. 10, 2016. (AP Photo, File)